California Water Policy

UC Davis' Center for Watershed Sciences was created to respond to demands for creative, multi-disciplinary approaches to watershed science and policy issues. By bringing together scientists, engineers, economists and policy researchers, the Center develops knowledge and insights to provide solutions to current and future water challenges.

Center scientists continuously engage with water managers and policy makers to share their scientific knowledge. They testify for state boards and various water management agencies, lead workshops for state legislators, provide briefings, present study findings at conferences, and circulate draft papers and formal reports.

Research Programs

California Water Policy
	Project
	California Environmental Flows Framework	The California Environmental Flows Framework (CEFF) provides an approach for determining ecological flow criteria and guidance for developing environmental flow recommendations that can accommodate a variety of stream types and biological communities, while supporting regulatory and management agency programs aimed at protecting beneficial uses for aquatic life. CEFF applies a Functional Flows approach and provides ecological flow criteria based on the natural variability of ecologically-relevant functional flow metrics. It provides a process for considering physical and biological constraints within a stream system and provides guidance on developing environmental flow recommendations that balance ecological and water management objectives.